Lt. Col. Mary Cheyne spent 22 years in the U.S. Army and
had assignments all over the world, including Afghanistan,
where she deployed as part of Operation Enduring
Freedom. But her hero is Pepper, a small black Lab with
soulful brown eyes.

Cheyne, who developed a host of medical problems
due to her deployments, retired from the Army in June
2015. With constant pain from fibromyalgia, migraines
and herniated discs in her back, along with post-traumatic
stress disorder and mobility issues affecting her shoulder,
hip and ankle, she was barely able to leave home, let alone
get out of bed some days. Then she was paired with Pepper.

“I was essentially a prisoner in my own house,” saysCheyne, 45, who lives in Silver Spring. “She’s enabled me togo out. This is the start—this is just taking those baby stepsto get back.”Cheyne, who walks with a cane and uses a brace onher wrist, was matched with Pepper through America’sVetDogs, a Long Island, New York-based organization thattrains service dogs and pairs them with active and retiredmilitary service members and first responders. Like mostservice dogs, Pepper was donated to America’s VetDogsby a breeder when she was a puppy, and raised by a familyuntil she was about 2 years old. She then learned basicservice commands from a trainer until she was matchedwith Cheyne last August.

Pepper helps Cheyne open doors and retrieve things
such as a dropped phone or a wallet, and serves as a
support for her when she’s getting up from a seated
position. When Cheyne is doing laundry, Pepper opens and
closes the washer and dryer. She helps in other ways, too:
When Cheyne cries out in her sleep because she’s having a
nightmare, Pepper touches her owner’s leg with her paw or
chin to wake her.

“She takes a little bit of the burden off, and then one dayturns into the next,” Cheyne says. “She makes me laugh.”With 3-year-old Pepper in her life, Cheyne is now doingthings she didn’t dream were possible a year ago. She’sjoined a gym and gone to a theater performance, along withPepper, who goes with her everywhere. She says Peppergives her a responsibility and a reason to get out of bedeach day.

Having a service dog to assist with day-to-day tasks is agift and a blessing, Cheyne says. “It’s given me my life back.”